Instrument: cello
Born in 1985, cellist Arnold Choi has already performed to great acclaim throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Arnold Choi began playing the cello at the age of five, and studied with John Kadz at the Mount Royal College Conservatory for twelve years. He has received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles under the tutelage of Ronald Leonard, and will be enrolling at the Yale School of Music to pursue a Master’s degree with Aldo Parisot in the fall.
A prizewinner at Korea’s Gyeongnam International Music Competition, Arnold Choi has also won First Prize at the Pasadena Showcase Instrumental Competition, the Kingsville International String Competition (junior division), the Canadian National Music Festival, and the OSM Standard Life Competition, among others. In the summer of 2008, Arnold Choi received the Grand Prize at the International Stepping Stone competition in Quebec City.
Arnold Choi has had the opportunity to solo with major orchestras around the world including the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Okanagan Symphony, Calgary Civic Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and the Shanghai Opera House Orchestra. A versatile performer, Arnold Choi continues to remain active in all fields of classical music, from orchestral to chamber music. In the summer of 2005, he acted as Principal Cellist of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra during their tour of Japan and Germany. In this capacity, he worked with such artists as Christoph Eschenbach, Kent Nagano, Christopher Hogwood, and Midori.